Target holder

ABSTRACT

The invention discloses a target holder used in shooting, comprising an elongated stake ( 210, 510, 610 ), having an upper part extending parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake, which upper part has an edge ( 233 ) receiving the first side of the target, and, as an extension of the upper part, a lower part having a bottom part that is arranged for mounting the stake to the ground or to a platform, as well as attachment means for attaching the target.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a target holder, and more particularly to a target holder for attaching a target used in shooting.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Shooting and hunting are activities that many people are interested in. This means generally firing ammunitions with a gun to an object, such as targets.

Usual shooting objects are for example targets made of cardboard or paper that are typically attached to a holder by using attachment means, for example a holder made of metal or wood. Attaching targets to a holder has previously been done for example with staples, clamps or adhesive tape, which however are easily broken and leave marks to the targets, and their detachment, when changing targets, can be difficult. Even though shooting often takes place towards immobile objects, sometimes there is a need to move the targets and to transport them with you between shooting places, whereby detaching attachments can make use of known target holders difficult and slow.

Therefore, based on the above, there is a need to remove the above-mentioned drawbacks related to target holders.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a target holder for targets used in shooting. An object of the present invention is also to resolve problems related to existing target holders of the prior art, and to provide a new and innovative target holder.

In order to achieve these objects, the target holder according to the present invention is characterized in that the target holder comprises an elongated attachment part that is arranged to be attached to a stake along its longitudinal axle so that the attachment part extends, when attaching, over the surface of the other side of the target to be attached to the target holder, whereby, when attaching, the locking direction of the attachment part is parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake towards the bottom part of the stake, and when detaching, the opening direction of the attachment part is parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake away from the bottom part of the stake.

The invention essentially eliminates the above-mentioned problems or at least partly solves them and additionally enables fast attachment of the targets without additional tools. Furthermore, the target holder is structurally simple, it doesn't break the surface of the target, and it is easy to transport along.

Other aspects, advantages, characteristics and objects of the invention will be apparent from the drawings and the detailed description of the illustrative embodiments together with the claims described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The summary of the invention disclosed above as well as the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments will be better understood in conjuction with the appended drawings. The present description is however not limited to the special embodiments disclosed here.

Embodiments of the present invention are described here only by way of example by referring to the following Figures wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a plate of which a stake according to an embodiment of the invention can be made;

FIG. 2A shows a stake according to an embodiment of the invention from the front;

FIG. 2B shows the stake shown in FIG. 2A from the side;

FIG. 2C presents a perspective view of the stake shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 3 shows a plate of which an attachment part according to an embodiment of the invention can be made;

FIG. 4A presents a perspective view of an attachment part according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4B shows an attachment part according to an embodiment of the invention from the front;

FIG. 5 presents a perspective view of a target holder according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6A presents a cross-sectional view of a target holder according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6B shows a partial Figure of the FIG. 6A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a target holder for a target used in shooting, comprising an elongated stake having an upper part extending parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake, which upper part has an edge receiving the first side of the target, and, as an extension of the upper part, a lower part having a bottom part that is arranged for mounting the stake to the ground or to a platform, as well as attachment means for attaching the target.

Attachment means comprise an elongated attachment part, arranged to be locked to the stake so that, when locking, the attachment part extends parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake to the outside of the edge of the stake, whereby, when the target is in its place, the attachment part extends over the surface of the other side of the target without breaking the surface of the target, and so that, when locking, the locking direction of the attachment part is parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake towards the bottom part of the stake, and that, when opening, the opening direction of the attachment part is parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake away from the bottom part of the stake, whereby the target can be attached and detached without separate tools.

According to an embodiment, the stake of the target holder is made of a metal plate and shaped so that it comprises a rectangular elongated bottom wall that extends between the upper part and the lower part of the stake, and elongated side walls that are arranged parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake so that the side walls extend outwards from the opposite sides of the bottom wall. Additionally, the stake has several upwards opening wedgelike projections that are arranged in pairs above the edge in the stake and below the edge.

The stake can be made for example of a metal plate by cutting. For example, by cutting a metal plate first to a desired size and shape and then by bending the plate in order to achieve a desired profile having for example a rectangular or L-shaped or U-shaped cross-section. Also, use of different ready-made profiles, such as aluminum profiles, may be possible, if they are shaped as described herein. Shaping causes the stake to be more rigid and it will withstand better the impacts caused by the ammunitions hitting the target during use. Furthermore, it aims to reduce random rebound of ammunitions that sharp edges might cause. Additionally, shaping makes it possible to provide the stake with projections that can be used to lock the attachment part against the stake.

The projections are arranged in pairs to the side walls of the stake, symmetrically in respect to the longitudinal axle of the stake so that they are located in the stake opposite to each other. The side walls of the stake thus have two pairwise arranged projections above the edge, and another two pairwise arranged projections below the edge.

The projections in the stake make it possible for the attachment part to stay in its place in the stake, and not to be able to fall. Additionally, due to the shaping of the projection, the attachment part can easily be attached to the stake. The projections also make it possible for the attachment part, when attaching, to wedge itself towards the stake at least partly by gravity, guided by the projections, because the projections are shaped so that they are tilted towards the stake (the bottom wall of the stake). As the attachment part moves closer to the stake, it presses at the same time the target between the attachment part and the stake.

According to an embodiment, the attachment part is made of metal by bending so that it comprises a rectangular elongated bottom wall that extends parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake, and elongated side walls that extend outwards from the opposite edges of the bottom wall. Each bottom wall further has openings that are arranged to the bottom wall in pairs so that they can receive the projections in the side walls of the stakes in order to attach the stakes and the attachment parts to each other.

The openings are preferably arranged to the bottom wall of the attachment part symmetrically in respect to the longitudinal axle of the attachment part so that they are opposite to the projections in the stake. Further, the openings are dimensioned so that the projections have room to go through the openings. The bottom walls of the attachment part can thus have two pairwise arranged openings in the upper part of the attachment part, and another two pairwise arranged openings in the lower part of the attachment part. An alternative is to use in the upper part of the attachment part, and respectively separately in the lower part, one opening that is so wide that pairwise arranged projections go through the single opening in the upper part and in the lower part.

For the manufacturing of the attachment part, similar methods can be used as for the stake. For example by cutting first a desired size and shape out of a metal plate, and then bending the plate in order to obtain a desired profile, having for example a rectangular, L-shaped or U-shaped cross-section. Also use of various ready-made profiles, such as aluminum profile, may be possible for the attachment part, if they can be shaped as described above. Shaping causes the attachment part to be more rigid and it will withstand better the impacts due to ammunitions hitting the target and further, it aims to reduce random rebound of ammunitions that sharp edges might cause, as already previously mentioned. This way of attaching has the additional benefit that when joining the stakes and the attachment parts together, the projections of the stake, when attaching, will not penetrate the target and thus, will not break the surface of the target.

According to an embodiment, the bottom part of the stake is shaped at its lower part to protrude from the stake so that it functions as a stamping means when mounting the stake to the ground or to a platform, i.e. the stake can be pushed with a foot to the ground or to a platform.

According to an embodiment, the edge of the stake is shaped so that it has serrations that extend parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake over the edge. The purpose of the serrations is to increase friction of the edge of the stake and to prevent the target from moving. The serrations can be formed for example by machining. As an alternative to the serration, a flap-like part or a collar can be formed to the edge, having a larger area than for example a serration. Using a collar is however a more expensive manner than to use serrations, because less material is spent when using a serration.

The length and width of the target holder can vary according to needs. The side walls of the stake can have a width of for example 10-30 mm, for example 15 mm or 18 mm. The bottom wall of the stake can have a width of for example 10-50 mm, for example 30 mm. The length of the stake and its side walls and the bottom wall can be for example 1000-1600 mm, for example 1490 mm. The dimensions are however not limited to what is presented above, and they may vary. With the above presented dimensions, the width of the stake can be for example 30-40 mm, for example 37 mm. A target holder dimensioned in this way has been found to be rigid and durable enough to be used for shooting.

When taking the target holder into use, the target, for example a target made of cardboard, can be attached at its edges by means of two stakes and two attachment parts to be attached to the stakes. When attaching an object (a target), the first stake is mounted to the ground or to a platform for example by pressing by hand or with the help of a foot so that the stake independently stays upright. Another stake is mounted in the same way as the first stake by placing it to a suitable distance from the first stake depending on the size, length and width of the target being used. When the stakes are in place, the first side of the target is placed towards the edge in the first stake so that it extends parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake and settles evenly against the edge of the stake. After this, the attachment part is brought for example by helping with one hand on top of the target, on its opposite side, keeping the target in its place in the stake at the same time, for example with the other hand. When bringing the target, the openings in the attachment part are placed so that they face the projections in the stake, and the attachment part is moved towards the stake so that the projections go through the openings and the attachment part is guided to the tiltedly upwards directed wedgelike projections in the stake. When the projections are through the openings, the attachment part is released, whereafter it gets wedged to the projections and is guided along the grooves in the projections to its place and at the same time it presses the target between the attachment part and the stake. The attachment part can also be pressed slightly downwards during mounting, so that it locks to the grooves in the stake. Due to shaping, the attachment part settles to its place at least partly by gravity, which makes the mounting of the target easier. On the other hand, it enables for the attachment part to stay in its place in the grooves also during storage when the target is not used. The other edge of the target is attached in a corresponding way as the first edge.

A target holder can be mounted for shooting either so that the stake (the bottom wall of the stake) is towards the shooting direction from which a gun is fired or, so that the stake is away from the shooting direction. It is however preferable to mount the target holder so that the stake is towards the shooting direction, whereby the attachment part is away from the shooting direction.

Even though some ways of carrying out the present invention have been described, men skilled in the art would understand that also other embodiments for carrying out the invention are possible.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a metal plate, of which the stake shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C is made. FIG. 1 shows the situation before bending. Bending locations have been drawn with dashed lines on the metal plate 130, showing where the metal plate is bent in order to manufacture the stake. The metal plate 130 has already been mechanically machined to have the shapes for the projections 131, side walls 132, the edge 133 and the protruding part 134 of the stake, which protruding part is in the lower part of the stake. The bottom wall 135 is a rectangular area between the side walls 132. The thickness of the metal plate shown in FIG. 1 can be for example 2-5 millimetres, for example 2 mm.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C show the stake as ready, after bending. The side walls 232 of the stake 210 have been formed by bending the above-mentioned metal plate at the points marked with dashed lines in the longitudinal direction of the stake to an angle of 90 degrees in respect to the surface of the bottom wall 235 of the stake. Additionally, an edge 233 has been formed to the side walls 232 of the stake 210 by bending the side walls at their upper part in an angle of 90 degrees in respect to the surface of the side walls. The edge 233 extends in parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake and in widthwise direction to a distance from the side walls of the stake. The side walls 232 and the bottom wall 235 of the stake then define a space that extends over the stake in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake.

Above the edge 233 (outside) there are two upwards opening projections 231 that have been arranged to the side walls 232 of the stake as a pair opposite one another. Below the edge 233 (outside) there are further two upwards opening projections 231 that are arranged to the side walls of the stake as a pair opposite one another. The projections 231 are L-shaped. Further, the projections are tilted towards the bottom wall 235 of the stake 210 (see FIG. 6B). The lower part of the stake further has a protruding part 234 having a triangular shape, extending outwards from the side walls of the stake. The protruding part 234 helps when the stake is being mounted to the ground or to a platform.

FIG. 3 shows a metal plate, of which the attachment part shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is made. FIG. 3 shows the situation before bending of the metal plate. Bending locations have been drawn on the metal plate 320 with dashed lines, showing where the metal plate is bent in order to manufacture the attachment part. The metal plate 320 has already been mechanically machined to have the shapes for the openings 321 and side walls 322 of the attachment part. The bottom wall is a rectangular area 323. The thickness of the metal plate 320 shown in FIG. 3 can be for example 2-5 millimetres, for example 2 mm, like the thickness of the metal plate used in the stake. Both of them, both the stake and the attachment part, can be made of the same material.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show the attachment part presented in FIG. 3 as ready, after bending. The side walls 422 of the attachment part 420 have been formed by bending metal plate to an angle of 90 degrees in respect to the surface of the bottom wall 423 of the attachment part. The side walls 422 and bottom wall 423 of the attachment part 420 define thus a space between them.

There are two openings 421 in the bottom wall of the attachment part, which openings have been arranged as a pair opposite to one another to the upper part of the bottom wall 423. Further, another two openings 421 have been arranged as a pair opposite one another to the lower part of the bottom wall at a distance from the first pair. The openings 421 have preferably been arranged so that they face the projections in the stake and they are dimensioned in size so that the projections fit through the openings of the attachment part. The attachment part 420 is further dimensioned so that it is wider than the stake, whereby the bottom wall of the attachment part extends in the widthwise direction of the stake to the outside of the side walls and the bottom wall of the stake.

FIG. 5 presents a perspective view of a target holder according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 shows a target holder according to an embodiment of the invention comprising a stake 510 and an attachment part 520.

FIG. 6A presents a cross-sectional view of a target holder 600. FIG. 6B shows a partial view of point B presented as circled in FIG. 6A, which partial view shows in more detail how serrations 617 have been arranged to the edge of the stake 610. FIG. 6B additionally shows a cross-sectional view of a projection 631 of the stake 610. 

1. A target holder (500, 600) for a target used in shooting, comprising an elongated stake (210, 510, 610), having an upper part extending parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake, the upper part having an edge (133, 233) receiving the first side of the target, and as an extension of the upper part, a lower part having a bottom part that is arranged for mounting the stake to the ground or to a platform, as well as attachment means for attaching the target, characterized in that the target holder (500, 600) comprises an elongated attachment part (320, 420, 520) that is arranged to be attached to a stake (210, 510, 610) parallel to its longitudinal axle so that the attachment part (320, 420, 520) extends, when attaching, over the surface of the other side of the target to be attached to a target holder (500, 600), wherein, when attaching, the locking direction of the attachment part (320, 420, 520) is parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake (210, 510, 610) towards the bottom part of the stake, and, when detaching, the opening direction of the attachment part is parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake away from the bottom part of the stake.
 2. A target holder (500, 600) according to claim 1, characterized in that the stake (210, 510, 610) is made of a metal plate and shaped so that it comprises a rectangular elongated bottom wall (135, 235), extending between the upper part and the lower part of the stake, and elongated side walls (132, 232), arranged parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake (210, 510, 610) so that the side walls (132, 232) extend outwards from the opposite edges of the bottom wall (135, 235), and, that the stake (210, 510, 610) has several upwards opening wedgelike projections (131, 231, 631), which have been arranged in pairs above the edge in the stake and below the edge (133, 233).
 3. A target holder (500, 600) according to claim 1, characterized in that the attachment part (320, 420, 520) is made of a metal plate and shaped so that it comprises a rectangular elongated bottom wall (323, 423), extending parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake, and elongated side walls (322, 422), which side walls extend outwards from the opposite edges of the bottom wall (323, 423), and that the attachment part (320, 420, 520) has several openings (321, 421), arranged in pairs to the opposite ends of the attachment part.
 4. A target holder (500, 600) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom part is shaped at its lower part to protrude from the stake so that it functions as a stamping means when mounting the stake (210, 510, 610) to the ground or to a platform.
 5. A target holder (500, 600) according to claim 1, characterized in that the edge (133, 233) of the stake (210, 510, 610) is shaped so that it has serrations (617) that extend parallel to the longitudinal axle of the stake (210, 510, 610) over the edge (133, 233). 